Author Archives: Bob Ruggiero
Dennis DeYoung Goes Back to Where It All Began
Like all musicians of varying ages, genres, and stages in their career during the Age of Coronavirus, Dennis DeYoung is stuck at home. He’s got a new solo record coming out, but has had to put a planned tour on … Continue reading
DVD Review: ZZ Top – That Little Ol’ Band from Texas
ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas 125 mins./DVD + Blu-Ray, $29.98, Eagle Rock Entertainment Last year, the three members of ZZ Top – singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, singer/bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard – celebrated 50 years together, … Continue reading
How Kansas Returned to “The Point of Know Return”
Kansas guitarist Rich Williams vividly remembers a certain day in 1977 that still has an impact on his life and career in 2019. His band had just finished playing a show in Chicago when they headed for a studio which … Continue reading
Janis Joplin Finally Gets the Book She Deserves
Janis: Her Life and Music By Holly George-Warren 400 pp., Simon & Schuster, $28.99 Rock’s first female superstar has already been the subject of a numerous biographies, memoirs by those who loved and worked with her, documentaries, and even a … Continue reading
Simon Kirke’s Good Music with Bad Company
It was the middle of 1973, and drummer Simon Kirke’s band was in complete and utter disarray. Though Free had only scored one hit in the U.S. (“All Right Now”) they were a popular concert attraction. But the group had … Continue reading
Authors Offer a Texas Flood on the Life and Music of Stevie Ray Vaughan
It’s October 3rd, 2019 when Alan Paul and Andy Aledort – co-authors of the new bio Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan – are on the phone. The date is appropriate because it would have been the … Continue reading
The Continuing Voyage of Pablo Cruise
One of the more interesting aspects of pop culture is when a musician or band whose songs have not graced the charts in years (sometimes decades), suddenly has an unexpected resurgence. It could be from a song well-placed on a … Continue reading
Bloomfield’s Big Book O’Blues
BOOK REVIEW Guitar King: Michael Bloomfield’s Life in the Blues By David Dann, 736 pp. , $39.95, University of Texas Press At one point in the mid/late ‘60s, Michael Bloomfield was considered by many as the country’s premiere blues-rock guitarist, … Continue reading
Peter Noone is Hardly a Hermit These Days
Peter Noone has heard it for years: “You should write a book!” After all, the lead singer of British Invasion band Herman’s Hermits certainly has a lot of stories he could tell. About hanging out with members of the Beatles … Continue reading
